Within recent years, cocoa prices have significantly increased. The art has sought a replacement or extender for cocoa. Although numerous formulations which simulate chocolate flavors have been proposed, the art has not successfully simulated the physical and functional attributes of cocoa powders in bakery recipes. Natural cocoa products are typically comprised of from about 8-25% fat, about 4.5% to about 20% protein and about 45-60% carbohydrate (sugars, starch, cellulose, pectin, gums, etc.) of which about 4-8% is fiber. The cocoa protein constituents are largely water-insoluble due to interaction and complexing with polyphenolic components. These components are primarily responsible for the unique color, flavor and functional attributes of the cocoa powder. Cocoa powders exhibit unique adsorption and viscosity attributes in cold-water mixes and significantly affect mouthfeel, moistness, texture etc. of the baked product. The unique functional attributes of cocoa powder (natural and Dutch) are best exemplified by their use in chocolate layer cake recipes. Heretofore the art has generally been unable to substitute or replace more than 1/3 of the cocoa powder in layer cakes with synthetic extenders without adversely affecting the quality and character of the baked product. This inability is primarily due to the arts failure to simulate the efficacy and functional attributes of cocoa powders.
The inventor sought a synthetic cocoa base product which would more closely simulate the functional attributes of cocoa powder. By simulating the functionality of cocoal powders, it was anticipated that the extender would function as cocoa powder replacement in a wide variety of food products. The inventor also sought to develop an extender for cocoa powder which would permit effective replacement of cocoa powders with a synthetic extender without adversely affecting the quality and organoleptic character of the recipe.